Wednesday, November 04, 2009

On Monday, the PS22 Chorus of 2010 had the pleasure once again of singing for our dear friend (and Academy & Tony Award-winning actress), Marcia Gay Harden! Marcia, adding to her collection, was being given a Big Apple Award at N.Y.U.'s THIS IS TISCH! Gala at the Rose Theater in Manhattan. The kids sang a re-reworked version of "Run This Town" (by Jay-Z, Rihanna & Kanye West) for Marcia, and were perfectly in tune! Marcia was amazing, giving each child individual attention and making them all feel like the stars they are!

The event was helping to raise money for scholarships to the performing arts program at N.Y.U, as well as to honor some of their prestigious alumni, such as Marcia Gay Harden! Other honorees of the evening included Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Sheila Nevins, and Diana King. Knowing of our relationship with Marcia, producer Ken Davenport contacted me and asked me if the kids would be able to sing at the ceremony as a surprise for Marcia. Of course there was no way we would ever turn down an opportunity to give back to Marcia! (In 2006, she had the PS22 Chorus over to her house for Christmas!)

What we DIDN'T realize was that the ceremony would be a veritable Who's Who of show business! In the audience sat Samuel L. Jackson, Spike Lee, Alec Baldwin, Glenn Close, and many more! Even backstage, as the kids were gearing up for their performance, they got some love, adoration, and inspiration from 3rd Rock From The Sun actress, Kristen Johnson. How amazing for the kids to perform for such an illustrious array of talent! Needless to say, chorus member Ethan got in his fair share of celebrity sniffing. And from the looks of the pictures below, it seems like the PS22 Chorus kids are becoming quite the celebs themselves.... in EVERY WAY!

Big thanks to Ms. Lisa and Ms. Sassano for all the great video footage and pics you see here. And of course, big thanks to Marcia Gay Harden for making time for the kids on her special night.

Hi! This is Kelly from Mr. McClung's class in Fayetteville, AR. It sounds like you guys are an awesome choir. I am in choir at my school, and I think it's really cool that so many celebrities have heard you guys and really enjoyed it. Keep up the good work!

Tori Amos

"They were so good! Their arrangements -- their sound -- it was so good.... It was...... disarming. It means so much that they took it and made it their own."-- Tori Amos after a private performance by the PS22 Chorusof her songs at the Sony Atrium in N.Y.C.

Common

"I feel honored to perform with PS22. The energy brought me up to a natural high on music and art, and just the spirits of you all. You all are so exciting to perform with..... I'm gonna remember this day forever."--hip hop legendCommonon performing with the PS22 Chorus at the National Tree Lighting 2009 for President Obama

David Cook

"Oh my God! It's ridiculous... It is incredible how good you guys are!!"-- David Cook, American Idol winner, after singing with PS22 Chorus!

Bonnie Hunt

Innocence Mission

"What a beautiful, beautiful, joyful version. It is a huge improvement on the original. The children brought tears to my eyes with their glorious singing and smiles. I so love the energy of this performance, the arrangement, the harmonies, everything."-- Karen PerisofThe Innocence Missionin apersonal message to the PS22 Chorusafter seeing the kids' video of the song "There" from their album, GLOW

Tribute WTC

Wikipedia

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IMPROVS

Improvising is a skill that really demands great natural musical ability, particularly to do it at 9 or 10 years old! All of the following songs were being created and recorded as you hear them here (with some minor post-editing). PS22 Chorus member JUSTIN, with occasional super-special guests including legendary PS22 Chorus Alumni CLIVE, DEON, BEN, ADIZA, KARIMA, BRI-AH, & AMANDA D., demonstrates the technique brilliantly.

Stevie Nicks

B.J. Novak

"My God! We watch you all the time at work, at The Office, all the actors, all the writers... You guys are amazing! I swear to you, you're an inspiration, keep it up!"-- B.J. Novak, star of The Office, raves about the PS22 Chorusat The Webby Awards!

Sinead O'Connor

"Most beautiful, joyous thing I seen apart from me own children ." -- Sinead O'Connorafter seeing the PS22 Chorus video of her song "Jackie!" PS22 was then invited to be the opening act for her concert at the Highline Ballroom in New York City.

Passion Pit

"These kids made the record what we had been dreaming it to be, as they are integral parts of three songs.... It felt so unbelievable to have the exact sound that I wanted coming through the headphones...."-- Michael Angelakosof Passion Pit on recording with the PS22 Chorus

Nancy Pelosi

"...You indeed, as you sing, 'rule the world!'"--Speaker of the HouseNancy Pelosiafter hearing the chorus sing at the Capitol